Shen Qianchen stared blankly at Chu Qianhuang who was sitting on the couch, and the familiar yet strange feeling in his heart became stronger.
Some vague speculations seem to be about to emerge from the fog.
Shen Qianchen slowly approached Chu Qianhuang, his steps were very slow, and he called softly, "Big sister?"
Her tone was calm, her voice clear as a mountain spring, and there was a slight raise at the end of her words, as if she was testing, or as if she was just saying hello.
Chu Qianhuang smiled slightly and stared at Shen Qianchen quietly. A few strands of black hair were softly scattered on her temples. Her chin was thin and pointed, as elegant and beautiful as a pear blossom half-blooming on a branch.
At this moment, she was not wearing any jewelry, with black hair and white skin, which made her look very fragile at first glance. But at second glance, her calm eyes seemed to be telling a story silently, tough and steady.
It is an ultimate tranquility after the hustle and bustle, which makes people feel inexplicably distressed.
The two sisters stared at each other for a long time without saying anything. The room was silent. Even the palace maid was affected by this strange atmosphere and became a little nervous, like a stone statue, not daring to move.
I don’t know how long it took, but Chu Qianhuang was the first to break the silence: “I’m sorry.”
These three words had no beginning or end, and the tone was very calm.
However, Shen Qianchen could see that Chu Qianhuang was not as calm as she appeared. Her hands, placed on the thin quilt, tightly grasped the quilt, and her eyes seemed to contain thousands of words.
Shen Qianchen's pupils shrank slightly, and the fog in his heart was instantly dispelled, and a certain idea emerged clearly.
It must be her.
The person in front of me, is it her? Shen Qianchen's heart seemed to have overturned a bottle of five flavors, the tastes of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty rolled together again and again, mixing into an indescribable taste.
She took another step closer to Chu Qianhuang, and this step seemed to cross thousands of mountains and rivers.
Then she called out again, "Big sister."
This time, the tail of her voice dropped, as if she was confirming something.
Chu Qianhuang nodded gently, her voice was so soft, so low that it seemed like she was talking to herself: "I'm back."
"..." Shen Qianchen was stunned for a moment, his eyes complicated.
She had lived two lives, experienced countless ups and downs, and witnessed many incredible and mysterious miracles, but at this moment she still couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart.
Even though Master Juehui of Baiyun Temple had hinted to her that the original Chu Qianhuang might come back, she had ordered Chu Qianhuang to be locked up in Baiyun Temple, thinking that if one year was not enough, then two years, three years, four years... or even longer.
She can wait.
But now, the "real" Chu Qianhuang suddenly came back.
It's really too fast.
"..." After the initial shock, Shen Qianchen's eyes gradually calmed down.
She looked at Chu Qianhuang in front of her without blinking, as if she wanted to see through her inside and out.
Even though she didn't say a word, the current Chu Qianhuang was completely different from the "Chu Qianhuang" she saw in the room of Baiyun Temple at noon, and her temperament was very different.
One is gentle and quiet, calm and dignified;
A conceited person with lofty ambitions.
In her previous life, Shen Qianchen was too naive and cowardly when she was in the Chu family. She did not find anything wrong with "Chu Qianhuang" until she was kicked out of the family. She was quite respectful to this elder sister.
In this life, Shen Qianchen had the experience of the previous life and had long discovered that something was wrong with "Chu Qianhuang". She was short-sighted and would do anything to achieve her goals, regardless of the consequences. She was not like the eldest daughter carefully raised by Shen Zhi. She had lost her integrity and was like a businessman who was only pursuing profit.
She still looked exactly the same, but something in her had changed.
Shen Qianchen stared at Chu Qianhuang for a long time without saying a word. Chu Qianhuang also did not say a word, but just sat calmly on the couch.
Shen Qianchen sat down on the chair beside the couch and asked gently: "You injured your abdomen and lost too much blood. Do you feel dizzy and weak now? Does the wound still hurt?"
Chu Qianhuang replied: "I am still a little weak. I just drank some medicine and the wound doesn't hurt anymore."
Her voice was slightly hoarse.
There seems to be an invisible barrier between the two sisters.
The palace maid who was assigned to serve Chu Qianhuang looked at the sisters imperceptibly. She had heard that the queen and her elder sister were not on good terms, but now she felt that the sisters were not close, but they were not incompatible.
Shen Qianchen examined Chu Qianhuang again, his eyes subtly different from before, and said with a smile: "Big sister, let me take your pulse."
Chu Qianhuang obediently stretched out her right wrist. She didn't seem surprised that Shen Qianchen knew medical skills. She didn't cry or complain, and she wasn't even surprised that she appeared in the palace.
Shen Qianchen skillfully took Chu Qianhuang's pulse. This time, she took longer than usual. Amber naturally noticed it and opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Then, Amber heard Shen Qianchen calling her name and raised his hand to make a gesture.
Amber immediately understood that Shen Qianchen wanted to talk to Chu Qianhuang in private, so she took the palace maid out and stayed outside by herself.
Only the sisters Shen Qianchen and Chu Qianhuang were left in the room.
The window on the east side was half open. The wind blowing in from the window dispelled the smell of medicine, brought a hint of floral fragrance, and also dispersed the heavy atmosphere a little.
Shen Qianchen poured a cup of warm flower tea for Chu Qianhuang, handed it to her, and asked casually: "Do you know?"
She was asking, but her expression was very confident.
If the current Chu Qianhuang knew nothing about what had happened over the past year, then she shouldn't behave like this.
Chu Qianhuang nodded, her eyes flickering, and finally she uttered one word with difficulty: "Yes."
Before today, she was like a trapped beast. Most of the time, she was in a drowsy sleep, and only occasionally became clearly conscious.
She could "see" and "feel" it, but she couldn't do anything, let alone speak.
Her body seemed to not belong to her, as if her soul was imprisoned with chains.
Until this time, the "wild ghost" who took away her body was stabbed by Aunt Jiang and was seriously injured. The other party was frightened and retreated. Only then was Chu Qianhuang able to break free from the shackles that had bound her for a full year and a half.
To be honest, she thought she was going to die at that time.
When she took over the body, she immediately felt the severe pain in her body, felt the blood gushing out, and felt herself being swallowed by darkness again...
But when she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in the human world.
She really came back.
Chu Qianhuang's eyes felt slightly sore and dry, a faint gleam of tears appeared in her eyes, and her chest rose and fell rapidly.
She lowered her eyes and closed them for a moment, then opened them again, looked at Shen Qianchen again, and said solemnly: "Second sister, I'm sorry."
Shen Qianchen smiled slightly, with a hint of comfort in her smile, and said softly: "Big sister, you are not the one who is wrong."
After a pause, Shen Qianchen pursed his lips and asked cautiously: "How much do you know about 'her'?"
"That Chu Qianhuang" has many secrets. She knows some of the future, and also knows many things that an ordinary Daqi woman should not know. So how much does the current Chu Qianhuang know? "Part of it, like a bow..." As she spoke, Chu Qianhuang's willow-leaf eyebrows were deeply wrinkled. No one knew what she thought of. Shame, pain, regret, and guilt flashed across her face, and her fists clenched tighter.
"It's not your fault." Shen Qianchen comforted again, patting Chu Qianhuang's shoulder gently, "Don't think about it, just have a good rest first."
Just like "that Chu Qianhuang" watched Chu Qianhuang's life like a spectator, the same is true for the current Chu Qianhuang. She knows some things about "that Chu Qianhuang", but to be more specific, she knows the facts but not the reasons behind them.
Chu Qianhuang nodded. She had just been seriously injured and was weak and easily fatigued. Although she didn't say much, she was already showing signs of fatigue.
Shen Qianchen called the palace maid back again, told her to take good care of Chu Qianhuang, and left Jingren Palace with Amber.
When I came out of Jingren Palace, a drizzle finally began to fall from the sky, and the drizzles were like melancholy.
Amber was quick to help Shen Qianchen hold the umbrella, and vaguely guessed that Shen Qianchen must have said something very "serious" to Chu Qianhuang just now.
Shen Qianchen stood quietly under the eaves for a moment, looking at the rain curtain in front of him, and the expression on his face became restrained.
She was actually half-believing and half-doubting what Chu Qianhuang said, about 70% believing and 30% doubting.
Is the real Chu Qianhuang really back?! Is that wild ghost acting, trying to deceive himself?
No.
That wild ghost shouldn't be that smart. It should be said that her way of dealing with people and her acting skills are full of flaws. Without knowing it, she can still fool people.
That wild ghost simply couldn't "act" out the demeanor of a legitimate daughter of an aristocratic family.
"Qi stagnation, blood stasis, and uneasy mind" are two points that discuss a person's mental illness. In other words, Chu Qianhuang's mental illness was cured in half an hour, and his mind returned to normal.
Shen Qianchen walked for a while, stopped for a while, strolled in the rain, and returned to the imperial study again.
As soon as she arrived, she saw a middle-aged eunuch with a white face and no beard coming up to her with a smile and bowing, "Empress, the Emperor is meeting with Ye Daxueshi from the Hanlin Academy and several other gentlemen."
The middle-aged eunuch did not mean to stop Shen Qianchen, he was just simply reporting it. After all, it was not the first time that Shen Qianchen came to the imperial study when Gu Jue met with the ministers.
After hearing what the other party said, Shen Qianchen did not enter through the front door. Instead, he went in through the back door of the imperial study as if he was familiar with the place, and walked into the green gauze cabinet with light footsteps.
In the imperial study, Grand Secretary Ye and four or five Hanlin scholars from the Hanlin Academy were all there, and most of their eyes were looking at Gu Jue behind the imperial desk.
Ye Daxueshi maintained his bowing posture and spoke seriously: "... Because the late emperor was seriously ill in the first month of the year, the spring examination this spring was postponed again and again. Later, the late emperor passed away, so the spring examination had to be put on hold temporarily."
"But the imperial examination is a matter of state and must not be abandoned. I think we should either postpone the spring examination or hold a special examination next year. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Scholar Ye was concentrating on talking to Gu Jue, so he didn't notice Shen Qianchen. However, two of the Hanlin scholars behind him noticed a figure entering the green gauze cabinet from the back without saying hello.
Even though they only saw a slender figure flash by, they could roughly guess the identity of the person.
The person coming must be the queen.
The empress did not report to the new emperor at all and just casually entered the imperial study. She even listened to them discussing government affairs in the green gauze cabinet. The new emperor did not care at all and was so indulgent towards the empress, which showed how deep their relationship was.
Gu Jue made a prompt decision and said, "The students have come all the way to the capital to take the exam. The Spring Examination cannot be cancelled. Lord Ye, please discuss with the cabinet and set a new date as soon as possible."
"The court is in urgent need of talents and is in urgent need of recruiting knowledgeable people. I plan to hold another special examination next year."
Gu Jue was not the kind of person who would rather eat meat than eat it. He knew that many scholars were just common people. They came to the capital from thousands of miles away to take the exams. The round trip journey was enough to empty a small family, so the Spring Examination could be postponed but not cancelled.
Academician Ye was delighted and immediately accepted the order.
It is still a period of national mourning, and the matter of the Spring Examination should have been discussed after the mourning period. However, the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the hot days of July and August were not suitable for the examination. After much consideration, he felt that the Spring Examination should be held as soon as possible.
Furthermore, the new emperor plans to hold an imperial examination in the spring of next year, so some scholars who failed to take the imperial examination this year will have hope.
As long as the new emperor is willing to gather talented people, he will naturally be able to calm the hearts of scholars.
The imperial scholars in the back all breathed a sigh of relief and began to compliment the new emperor: "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Students all over the world will surely be grateful for the emperor's kindness!"
“…”
The Hanlin scholars were talking animatedly, but Shen Qianchen in the green gauze cabinet was absent-minded and didn't listen to a word. She picked up a notebook that she had read halfway yesterday and flipped through it casually.
Shen Qianchen came to the imperial study every day, so Gu Jue placed a bookshelf in the green gauze cabinet to store her books, but there were hardly any serious books on this bookshelf.
Amber occasionally wondered, if some foreign minister entered this green gauze cabinet one day and saw this bookshelf, would he think that these were the books of the new emperor? Amber was daydreaming when she saw Gu Jue walk in. She then slowly realized that Ye Daxueshi and his men had left, so Amber also avoided them.
Now that Gu Jue is here, I am naturally no longer needed here.
Shen Qianchen didn't notice Gu Jue coming in at all. He was holding a book in his hand, but his eyes were staring blankly at the drizzle outside the window.
The crystal rain drops fall on the leaves, flowers and grass blades, washing away the dust on them. In the rain, everything seems to have a hazy beauty.
Shen Qianchen looked far away in the direction of Jingren Palace, his soul flying away.
It wasn't until a sweet and juicy lychee was stuffed into her mouth that she was brought back to her senses by the sweet taste.
"Are you worried about something?" Gu Jue could tell at a glance that Shen Qianchen was worried about something, and asked directly. At the same time, he peeled a fresh white lychee.
Shen Qianchen nodded, swallowed the lychee first, and then talked about Chu Qianhuang's affairs without hiding anything.
Gu Jue stuffed another peeled lychee into Shen Qianchen's mouth and asked pointedly, "You don't believe that Chu Qianhuang is back?"
Shen Qianchen nodded, still holding a lychee in her mouth, and her voice was a little vague: "It always feels a little unreal." When she spoke, she was like a depressed child.
Gu Jue peeled another lychee, raised his eyebrows and asked her, "Is it sweet?"
"Sweet." Shen Qianchen nodded again, subconsciously opened his mouth, and waited for him to feed him.
As a result, Gu Jue put the third lychee into his own mouth, with a playful smile on the corner of his lips.
"!!!" Shen Qianchen felt like he was being teased.
Suddenly, she became bolder and pinched Gu Jue's wrist with one hand, moved her chin closer, and used her teeth to bite the lychee between his thumb and index finger, like a kitten protecting its food.
Gu Jue actually didn’t like lychees as he thought they were too sweet. He just saw that his little girl was in a bad mood so he just tried to cheer her up.
She always says that eating something sweet will make her feel better.
Gu Jue picked up a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her mouth, then turned the topic back to Chu Qianhuang: "Just take a look, fake things can't be real. If they are fake, they will always show their true colors."
You can deceive people for a while, but you can’t deceive people forever.
"..." Shen Qianchen couldn't help but think of the chess game she had set for Chu Qianhuang in Baiyun Temple. Yes, the net of heaven is vast and nothing can escape it. "That Chu Qianhuang" has many flaws. Since she had seen through her once, she could see through her a second time.
Shen Qianchen pursed his lips and thought for a while, then said: "I plan to let mother come to see her."
Chu Qianhuang was raised by Shen Zhi herself. She knows Chu Qianhuang best. If there is anything wrong, Shen Zhi will definitely be able to detect it.
Shen Qianchen did not ask for Gu Jue's opinion, and continued: "Mother should be happy. Big sister has always been a concern for mother."
"Maybe if mom is happy, it will be a double happiness..."
Shen Qianchen smiled with her eyes curved. She heard about Pei Linye's proposal from her grandmother, the wife of Duke Mu, but her grandmother asked her not to tell her mother, so she didn't mention it.
Shen Qianchen talked on and on, simply because she liked talking to Gu Jue. It would be fine as long as he occasionally said "hmm" or touched her head.
As they were talking, their positions changed. Originally they were sitting side by side, but after Shen Qianchen was fed another sweet and juicy lychee, she realized that she was sitting on his lap again.
Weird, when did this happen? Shen Qianchen blinked, a little confused, and a sentence came to his mind: Wine doesn't make people drunk, people get drunk by themselves.
He is no different from fine wine! Shen Qianchen secretly laughed in his heart, feeling that he was almost turned into a useless person by him, who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun every day.
No, no, no, she is still very useful.
Shen Qianchen straightened his chest, remembering that he should check his pulse today, so he stretched out his right hand, palm up, and said, "Give me your hand."
Seeing her acting bossy, Gu Jue couldn't help laughing. The smile illuminated his face, like a clear breeze, and even the drizzle outside the window seemed to be blown away.
He cooperated by giving her his left hand and letting her feel his pulse.
Shen Qianchen stared intently and felt the pulse under his fingers. His pulse was deep and powerful, with an even rhythm, which was completely different from Gu Jue a year ago.
Of course, Gu Jue is still not as healthy as Xue Fengyan and Tang Yuchu. His heart pulse is still weak, but it’s not a big deal.
Shen Qianchen quickly withdrew his hand and impatiently warned: "You haven't had a good rest recently, you have to pay attention!"
"You should be done with your work by now. There are so many people in the court, you can't be the only one busy, right? Isn't Su Mubai here?!"
"Anyway, you have to listen to me and don't stay up late anymore!"
Gu Jue's heart pulse has always been weak, even now that his hidden injury has healed, it is still the same. Shen Qianchen judged that it was caused by the broken blade buried in his chest for many years.
Shen Qianchen would check Gu Jue's pulse almost every other day. It had been more than four months since the first month of the year. She had given Gu Jue so many medicines. Logically, Gu Jue's pulse should have recovered a little. Why was it still weak? Whenever she thought about this, Shen Qianchen always felt a little uneasy. Sometimes, she wondered if she was affected by "that Chu Qianhuang".
Gu Jue noticed Shen Qianchen's uneasiness, and wrapped his strong right arm around her waist from behind, holding her in his arms with strength but tenderness.
His left hand gently covered her eyes.
When her eyes were closed, Shen Qianchen felt that her other five senses were magnified. She felt his warm breath spraying on her ears, and his lips occasionally brushed against her earlobes while he spoke...
"Don't worry." His voice was low and magnetic.
That was her favorite sound.
Shen Qianchen's heart slowly calmed down, and he leaned his back against his chest, but he was still thinking about his heart pulse.
(End of this chapter)